Skip to main content

Editor's Pick ( Test): India - South Africa

By


Three tests, six ODI and three T20 matches. The teams are at the venue. The first test begins on Jan 5th. There were supposed to be two warm-up matches. But India preferred training sessions. Wonder why. Didn’t want to reveal a few tricks? Because India has not only been playing quite a bit recently but also playing well. The reason is the tough conditions in South Africa that the Men In Blue are not quite used to. They may be the champs when it comes to venues in the Indian Subcontinent. The real test is while playing in Conditions that are totally new to them. Like South Africa. Possibly, the matches played in India and in Sri Lanka were their warm-up matches.

Dhoni is not on the test team. He will join the team to play in the ODI.  He totally agreed with Kohli on the decision to prepare. With so many matches, teams are made to just play instead of prepare. Well, I agree. While Kohli and team have 9 successive series victories, the key will be to win on a pitch that is not batting friendly. Not an Indian subcontinent pitch.
South Africa has a good side too. Dale Steyn returns from injury. Vernon Philander supports him as a new ball partner. AB de Villiers adds strength to the batting department.

Let’s take a look at the team for the test matches.

South Africa
Faf du Plessis ( c ), Hashim Amla, Temba Bavuma, Theunis de Bruyn, Quinton de Kock (wk), AB de Villiers, Dean Elgar, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Morné Morkel, Chris Morris, Andile Phehlukwayo, Vernon Philander, Kagiso Rabada, Dale Steyn
India
Virat Kohli ( c ), Ajinkya Rahane (vc), Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Shikhar Dhawan, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Hardik Pandya, Parthiv Patel, Cheteshwar Pujara, K. L. Rahul, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Rohit Sharma, Murali Vijay, Umesh Yadav

My lineup
Batsmen
Virat Kohli
Rohit Sharma
C Pujara
Shikhar Dhawan
AB De Villiers
A Rahane
Bowlers
K Rabada
Vernon Phinalder
Morne Morkel
Wicket-Keeper
W Saha
All-Rounders
Hardik Pandya

This is no walk in the park for the Indian team. This challenge is not only difficult but also unfamiliar. India has struggled in South Africa, crumbling to the bowling attack and winning just two out of 17 tests conducted. But one advantage that this team has - many of the players have been to the Rainbow Nation and know what to expect. This squad could be different. This squad could make history.

Indu

P.S. Please note that the above-expressed opinions are purely the Editor’s. We do not take responsibility, nor can we guarantee the performance of the players. All the best !!!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Chennai beats Mumbai and clinch thriller

By
It is not just about coming back. It is about the impact you make in the process. And Chennai team knows how to with a bang.  The Chennai team beat the home team by one wicket in what was an absolute sit-at-the-end-of-the-chair thriller. It was one of the best chases the tournament has seen and it most definitely won't be the last. The player who made the difference in the end - Jadhav - literally came back from the dead after retiring hurt to take his team to the finish line by hitting the ball in style with a six and a four.  Batting on one leg and playing an absolutely unbelievable shot, this player leveled the scores first with a six and finished the match with a four.  Key Points  MI has never won their opener since 2013. This was Chennai's first win against MI in an opener of this T20 League  DRS used in the league for the first time  Bravo : It was a great team effort. I want to dedicate this win to the CSK fan, they have waited long for
Post a Comment
Read more

Need for co-ed sports

By
Now, this is hardly a feminist piece. I am not here to tell you that women can do anything that men can and better too. One, you know it too. Two, this is hardly about women. I am not here to praise women and demand better rights. I am talking about the possibility that the entire field of sports can take a whole new meaning if gender is not made the criterion. So this is how the idea for the blog started. The Women’s Indian Cricket Team performed really well at the world cup this year. Mithali Raj praised her team for their hard work, persistence, and passion for the game. She also added that there should be an IPL tournament in the country for the women’s team now. Raj believes that the team’s fantastic game has increased the fan following for the women’s team as well and that they have earned their place here. While I am honestly not sure about an IPL tournament for women, it did get me thinking. Why not mixed sports? Now that girls play almost all the games that the guys do, w
3 comments
Read more

Blog Time: How I won my Fantain Fantasy Cricket

By
I played the Sri Lanka – Zimbabwe match and I won more than six times what I put in. That is a really good investment, isn’t it? I have been asked by Fantain to share what I did and how I planned my lineup. This is how. Kusal Perera  – I made him captain. I won a massive 120 points. My vice-captain was Dinesh Chandimal .  So I got 43.5. In hindsight, I could have picked Perera. He did fabulously well and earned a whopping 89 on the app. The other player in my lineup who helped me win was Sikandar Raza . He got 88.5 on the app. These four players are a must be in the next match between Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe.  Dinesh Chandimal is one good consistent player that I always have. So it’s like this. I have four categories when I play fantasy cricket. One is the must-have players who will be on my team no matter what. For this match that I played, they were Kusal Perera, Dinesh Chandimal, and Upul Tharanga. For me, old is gold. Experience speaks volumes. The second category is ba
Post a Comment
Read more